Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens), a source of antimicrobial peptides

Abstract

In the modern world, multi-drug antibiotic resistance is an increasingly serious problem which poses a serious threat to both plants, animals and humans. The unreasonable use of antibiotics has led to the spread and increase in the number of infectious diseases that existing antibiotics may not be able to cope with. Thus, there is a need for the development of new classes of antibiotics that do not induce resistance. It is necessary to find agents with new mechanisms of action for the development of such antimicrobial compounds. Antimicrobial peptides are excellent candidates for this role. Penetrating through the membranes, they affect the target protein without high specificity, which in turn reduces the probability of induced resistance to a minimum [13]. Scientists have identified about 57 active peptides belonging to various groups of antimicrobial peptides, including defensins, cecropins, attacins and lysozyme. Defensins form the largest group of antimicrobial peptides in insects. As a rule, a defensin-like peptide contains from 34 to 43 amino acids. Antimicrobial peptides obtained from Hermetia illucens can become a good alternative to antibiotics for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, as they differ in their antimicrobial properties and are less likely to induce resistance [8]. The lipid composition as well as the amino acid composition can be changed by different larvae diets. Larvae fat contains oleic, palmitic, lauric, myristic, stearic and palmitolic acids, which are saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, and have an intense effect against bacteria.